keeping in line. By the time youre I dont know how old, life has changed you up in some way."
Like many a child before him, he sought escape in Goldblum's case, through theatrical dreams inspired by local kiddie productions sauch as Hansel and Gretel, which he saw as a child. "I would stand in the lobby, fake tap dancing and wait for the show to start," he says, "I was very turned on by it."
In 1970, with the blessings of his family, who encouraged the kids to learn about the arts, the 17 year old Goldblum headed for New York City to study acting. "I was thrilled to be living alone," he recalls. But his brother Rick's death at 23 the following year from a virus he picked up on a North African trip offered a sobering lesson. "I realized the importance of getting a grip," says Goldblum, "Because life is fragile." After a Broadway stint as a guard in Joseph Papp's musical, TWO GENTLEMAN OF VERONA, the actor eventually won his first importaint screen role, in Robert Altman's 1974 movie about compulsive gamblers, CALIFORNIA SPLIT. In LA Goldblum, with his odd speech pattern, lanky build and exaggerated features, soon got a reputation as a hip, comicaly quirky actor. "It was pretty fast," he says of his rise. "Maybe it wasnt as meaningful as it might have been to somebody whod struggled more, but it was a charge."
Joy in the moment is a hallmark of Goldblum's personality and relationships. Says his LA based sister Pam, a painter who sees her brother often: "Hes like a guru always getting me on new paths, like new diets and going to the gym. Hes so enthusiastic. It does everybody good to be with him." Notes director Duke: "People say hes strange, but I find him to be a genuine person who has not let this town corrupt him. Hes sincerly one of the nicest people ive ever met."
The Goldblum charm obiously worked on his first wife. He and Gaul who met in 1975, moved in together 3 weeks later. They married in 1980. "We had a lot of fun," Goldblum says causiously. But not enough. They divorced in 1986. "I felt Id made a step toward learning what I wanted from relationships," he says. "But there was the feeling.... |
